Rail fastener



June 18, 1940. N, D, FATTA 2,205,282

RAIL FASTENER Filed June 1959 mania 1NVENTOR.

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented June18, 1940 RAIL FASTENER Nicholas D-i Fatta, Oakmont, Pa.,assignor to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application June 6, 1939, Serial No. 277,655

9 Claims.

This invention relates to rail fasteners, and has among its objects theprovision of a'combined rail fastener and creep check of simple andinexpensive construction which is easy to apply and highly eflective inoperation, which can be readily tightened in case it becomes loose, andwhich can be used with conventional tie plates without the necessity ofaltering them.

In accordance with this invention a resilient rail clip that is archedlongitudinally is mounted with its ends engaging a tie plate and thebase flange of a rail seated on the tie plate. -The clip is providedwith an opening formed by striking downwardly a tongue that extends intoa conventional spike hole in the tie plate at the edge of the rail base.This opening may be in the form of a slot extending upwardly from theouter end of the clip. To hold the clip in place a spike is driven downthrough this slot, through the tie plate hole and into the underlyingtie. The spike may be the same width as a conventional railway spike,but it is only about half as thick so that it can extend'through the tieplate hole with the tongue which it engages. The tongue is inclinedupwardly and outwardly in its partially applied position, wherebydownward movement of the spike, as it is driven into the tie, will forcethe upper end of the tongue and the clip inwardly toward the rail. Also,the tie plate engaging portions of the tongue and spike are preferablybowed away from each other in order to permit them to resiliently wedgethemselves in the tie plate hole. The lower end of the tongue isslightly enlarged so that it will engage beneath the tie plate and helplock the clip in place.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of my rail fastenerin opera tive position; Fig. 2 is avertical section taken on the lineII-II of Fig. 1; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are plan, side and rear views,respectively, of the clip; and Figs. 6 and 7 are side and rear views,respectively, of the spike used with the clip.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a railroad rail 1 is mountedon a conventional type of tie plate 2 having a shoulder or rib 3 on itsupper surface for holding the rail against lateral movement. The rib andplate are provided with the usual spike receiving hole 4.

In accordance with this invention the rail is held down on the tie plateby means of a spring clip 6 held in place by a spike 1 driven into theunderlying wooden tie 8. The clip is preferably rectangular as seen fromabove in Fig. 1, and is arched longitudinally (Fig. 2) with its innerend extending slot 9 is formed in the outer or rear 1 portion of theclip by striking down a tongue I l which is inserted in the tie platehole l. In order that the tongue may extend entirely through the hole itis somewhat longer than the slot.

To hold the clip firmly against the rail and tie plate, spike I isdriven through slot 9 and tie plate hole 4 into the wooden tie. Thisspike is as wide as an ordinary spike, but it is only about half asthick because the tongue substantially fills the rest of the tie platehole. When the spike is driven down its head engages the resilient clipand tends to flatten it, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the clips bearswith considerable pressure upon the tie plate and rail base flange. Theclip not only holds the rail on the plate, but

,helps to keep the rail from creepinglongitudi' nally."

Another'feature of this inventionis that in its unstressed condition,shown in Fig. 4 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the tongue I I isinclined upwardly and outwardly so that when the spike is driven downthrough the tie plate hole it must force the upper end of the tongue andthe clip inwardly toward the rail. This movement in itself tightens theclip on the rail because the rail base flange is inclined upwardly awayfrom the spike. In order to help hold the tongue and spike down in thetie plate, they are preferably bowed away from each other before beingmounted in place (Figs. 4 and 6). When driven through the tie plate holethe opposite walls of the hole force the bowed portions toward eachother whereby the spike and tongue are resiliently wedged therein. Tofurther aid in locking the tongue'in place, its lower end is enlarged sothat it will project under the tie plate (Fig. 2).

If the pressure of the clip on the rail happens to decrease, it may beincreased again by merely pounding the spike down the desired amount. Itwill be seen that the cost of making such a clip and spike is smallcompared with the cost of most rail fasteners. The spike serves thedoubleduty of holding the clip in place and helping to hold the tieplate on the tie. The tie plate is of standard form and need not bealtered in any way to receive this fastener.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple and construction of my invention and have illustrated anddescribed what I now consider to represent its best embodiments.However, I desire to have PATENT OFFICE it understood that, within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A rail clip having a longitudinally arched resilient body ofsubstantially the same thickness from end to end and with ends adaptedto engage a tie plate and a rail base flange, the portion of said bodyadjacent the tie plate being provided with an upwardly extending slotadapted to receive a fastening member, and a depending tongue at theupper end of the slot adapted to project entirely through a hole in thetie plate, the lower end of the tongue being curved away from said slotfor engaging the edge of the tie plate at the bottom of said hole.

2. A rail clip having a longitudinally arched body with ends adapted toengage a tie plate and a rail base flange, the portion of said bodyadjacent the tie plate being provided with an upwardly extending slotadapted to receive a fastening -member, and a depending tongue at theupper end of the slot adapted to projectinto' a hole in the tie plate,said tongue being bowed away from the tie plate engaging end of the clipand being resilient.

3. A rail clip having 'a longitudinally arched body with ends adapted toengage a tie plate and a rail base flange, the portion of said bodyadjacent the tie plate being provided with an upwardly extendingslotadapted to receive a fastening member, and a depending tongue at theupper end of the slot adapted to project into a hole in the tie plateand inclined downwardly and toward the rail-engaging end of the clip,whereby said tongue is forced into a substantially vertical plane by aspike driven through said hole behind the tongue and in engagementtherewith.

4. In combination, a longitudinally arched rail clip having ends adaptedto engage a tie plate and a rail base flange seated thereon, the portionof the clip adjacent the tie plate being provided with an upwardlyextending slot, said clip having a depending tongue at the upper end ofthe slot adapted to project into a hole in the tie plate, and a spikedisposed in said slot against the tongue and adapted to extend throughsaid tie plate hole, the combined thickness of the tongue and spikebeing substantially equal to their widths whereby they may be disposedin a conventional spike hole in the tie plate.

5. In combination, a longitudinally arched resilient rail clip havingends adapted to engage the tie plate and a rail base flange seated onsaid tie plate, the clip being provided with an opening and adown-struck tongue adapted to project into a hole in the tie plate, anda resilient spike disposed in said clip opening against with an upwardlyextending slot, said clip having an integral tongue extending downwardlyfrom the inner end of said slot and into said tie plate hole inengagement with the inner wall thereof, and a relatively thin spikedisposed in said slot and hole in engagement with said tongue and driveninto said tie.

'7. The combination with a wooden tie and a tie plate having aspike-receiving hole at the edge of its railseat, of a longitudinallyarched resilient rail clip having ends for engaging the tie plate and arail basefiange mounted on said seat, the outer portion of the clipbeing provided with an upwardly extending slot, said clip having atongue extending downwardly from the inner end of said slot and intosaid tie plate hole, and a resilient spike disposed in saidslot and holein engagement with said tongue and driven into said tie, the tie plateengaging portions of said tongue and spike being bowed away from eachother to wedge themselves in said hole.

8. The combination with a tie plate having a spike-receiving hole at theedge of its rail seat, of a longitudinally arched resilient rail cliphaving ends for engaging thetie plate and a rail base flange mounted onsaid seat, the outer portion of the clip being provided with an upwardlyextending slot, and said clip having a tongue extending downwardly andinwardly from the inner end of said slot and into said tie plate hole,the lower portion of the tongue engaging the inner wall of said hole,said slot and hole being adapted to receive a spike for forcing theupper'end of said tongue toward the rail seat.

9. A substantially rectangular rail clip having a longitudinally archedresilient body of substantially the same thickness from end to end andwith ends adapted to engage a tie plate and a rail base flange,theportion of said body adjacent the tie plate being provided with anupwardly extending slot adapted to receive afastening member, and adepending tongue at the upper end of the slot adapted to project througha hole in the tie plate, the lower end of the tongue being formed forengaging the bottom of the tie plate.

NICHOLAS DI FATTA.

